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Utilities

Research and reports

This is part one of a two-phase report about bio-oil technologies and the manufacture of the product in New Zealand.

The report is aimed at investors; forest and mill owners who have access to quantities of remote forest and mill residue and may consider bio-oil production as a technically and economically viable business option.

East Harbour Energy was commissioned by Fonterra to carry out an assessment of the feasibility of converting the energy supply at their Tuamarina, Kaikoura, and Culverden milk processing plants from diesel or LFO to wood fuel.

Nelson based Nutrizeal Ltd have investigated options to replace their LPG hot water boiler with a biomass boiler. Three different options are considered with simple paybacks ranging from 0.7 years to 2.4 years.

This study looks at the feasibility of replacing light fuel oil boilers with wood fuel boilers at ENZAFOODS site in Nelson. It found that the due to the variable steam demand at the site and the high cost of wood fired boilers per kilowatt, the most cost effective approach to steam supply at the Nelson site would involve utilising a relatively small woodfired boiler as a "Base Load" boiler.

This study assesses the suitability of various-sized wood-fired boilers for providing some or all of the Brewery's process steam needs.

It also assesses the possibility of using an absorption chiller to provide some or all of the sites cooling requirements using wood energy. Three boiler scenarios are considered. The two most attractive scenarios are described in detail, both delivering an IRR of 7 - 8%.

The rising cost of natural gas prompted Tatua Co-operative Dairy Factory near Hamilton to look at alternative energy sources to run its boilers.Wood-fired boilers are common in sawmills and wood processing plants, but are yet to be used in a New Zealand dairy factory. Tatua's site engineer Jack van Lankveld says they were motivated by a desire to be more self-sufficient and environmentally friendly."If the [gas] supply went down we would have to stop operating. There's also the whole carbon issue to think about - this is something that is becoming increasingly important."

Blue Mountain Lumber is a sawmill located in Southland, New Zealand. The sawmill was expanded in 2000 to enable the processing of approximately 160,000 tonnes sawlogs annually. Prior to expansion the sawmill operated with several small wood residue fuelled boilers that were at the end of their economic life. The site was dumping significant quantities of woodwaste into a local landfill. As part of the expansion an energy facility was built to provide improved steam quality and capacity for increased steam loads.

Goldpine Industries Limited produce fencing posts and other timber products at their Golden Downs site. The process produces a timber waste product that can be used as a fuel. However the fuel produces unique challenges in handling due to its bridging properties. This monitoring report looks at how Goldpine overcame the fuel handling challenges.